TEMPE – Sun Devil Gymnastics bounced back after a tough meet last week with a solid 195.875 on Saturday afternoon in Desert Financial Arena, coming up short to No. 18 Denver’s 196.950.
Notable stats
- Arizona State (3-3, 1-2 Big 12) was neck and neck with Denver (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) throughout the meet, but the Pioneers pulled away in the last two rotations with big scores.
- Senior Kimberly Smith was the lone Gym Devil in the all-around, scoring a 39.400. This was her second meet this season scoring at least a 39.400. All four events saw scores of 9.825 or 9.875 for Smith, including a career-high 9.875 on beam. The beam score was also ASU’s highest score on beam this season.
- Freshman Safia El Mammann won her first event title of her career, taking the vault title with a 9.850. That score matches her career high.
- The bars lineup set a new season high event total with a 49.025. That also was the highest event total of the night for the Sun Devils.
- On beam and floor, senior Kayla Lee scored 9.850s. For floor, that is a new season high, while on beam it matches her season best.
- In two beam routines this season, senior Isabella Kowan has scored a 9.850 each time, including today’s routine.
- After making her season debut last week, sophomore Halle Braaflat notched a new season high on floor with a 9.800.
- Freshman Robyn Wilson made her collegiate debut, competing on vault and earning a 9.775.
Final results
- Denver, 196.950
- Arizona State, 195.875
Rotation one: vault, 48.900
With a 9.850, El Mammann led ASU with an event title in vault, tying both her career high and the best ASU vault score this year. Smith had the second-highest score with a 9.825. All other scores for vault were at or above a 9.700.
Rotation two: bars, 49.025
ASU put together a season high on bars with a total score of 49.025. Four of the five scores that counted for the Sun Devils were a 9.800 or higher. There were three 9.825s scored, which included Smith, sophomore Nina Laurito (who reached a career high) and junior Reese Grolla (who tied her season high). Lee achieved a season high with a 9.750. Freshman Kylee Bromley also had a solid performance, scoring a 9.800.
Rotation three: beam, 49.000
Smith led the Sun Devils on beam with a career high of 9.875, which was also ASU’s best beam score of the season so far. Both Kowan and Lee tied their season bests on beam with a score of 9.850.
Rotation four: floor, 48.950
Four Sun Devils put up a score at or above 9.800. The two gymnasts scoring a 9.800 were freshman Delanie Kelly as well as Braaflat, the latter being a personal season high. Lee put up a 9.850 while Smith scored a 9.875 to close out the meet.
Up next
Heading back on the road, Arizona State will fly out east for a Valentine’s Day meet against West Virginia.
Follow us
For exclusive content, the latest updates and more information on the Sun Devil Gymnastics team, follow @sundevilgymnastics on Instagram, @SunDevilGym on X, Sun Devil Gymnastics on Facebook and visit sundevils.com.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Quotes
Head Coach Jay Santos
Opening statement:
“It was a nice bounce back from last week. It just felt much more calm. Maybe it's being at home, but from the get go last week, it felt a little off, and this week felt much more composed and put together from warmups all the way through. I just would have loved to just finish all the way through. We just had a couple of routines on the last couple of rotations that took us down just a little bit. So we just wanted to finish a little stronger, but overall it was a pretty good performance and a pretty good bounce back from last week.”
On how Kimmy’s performances impact the team:
“She's late in our lineups for a reason because she's got the experience. She's got great gymnastics, obviously leadership, how she prepares, everything like that. We're not worried about her in those (stressful) spots. More times than not, she's going to go out there and do it right, just like she did today, like she's been doing all year. [She] picked up where she was last year, doing the same thing. So, she just needs to keep doing that, and we've got to keep getting some of the other girls to kind of raise to her level. The more we can close that gap, the faster we close that gap, it's just going to get stronger and stronger for us.”
On how the team plans to finish all the way through for next meet:
“We just have to get back in the gym and get back to work. We have to keep working on their confidence and trying to get as many people experienced as possible, with the underclassmen or people that haven’t competed as much so that they can continue to settle in. The first two rotations, we had six routines that were a hit, maybe one or two lower scores, but they were good solid routines throughout. Beam was going well until the one break, and then the start on the floor got away from us just a little bit. So we just have to go back to the gym, keep practicing and keep pushing them to do things stronger. We have to do it together in practice as much as possible and keep building on that foundation for them so that they can rely on that when it comes time to compete.”
Senior Kimberly Smith
On scoring a career high in beam:
“Today during beam, I was almost thinking less, as silly as that sounds. I kind of just let my body do the gymnastics instead of putting it in such rigid places. So just staying calm and trusting my training because that's honestly what it came down to. I knew I could do it, and I just let my body do the gymnastics that we practice every day.”
On making any changes before facing West Virginia:
“I honestly don't think we need to make a lot of big changes. I think a lot of it is just working on the small details. Jay always said we need a lot more of the high-end routine, so just finding those details, finding half a tenth in landings and form, and just building off from there.”
Freshman Safia El Mammann
On winning her first career title in vault:
“It feels really good. I feel like the hard work is paying off and I’m just enjoying every moment and staying present. It means a lot to me.”
On her growth as a freshman on the team:
“I feel like it is really helpful to have a team around me that really believes in me. I feel like when they believe in me, I believe in myself. So I feel like every day in the gym, I’m just trying to get one percent better so that I can perform to the best of my ability at the competition.”